Getting around Tenerife is easy, thanks to the wide range of car hire, bus and taxi services on offer.

Car Hire in Tenerife.

Car hire in Tenerife is a very competitive business, apart from the internationally known companies there are many Spanish national companies and a host of small local companies operating rent a car in Tenerife . Price of course is a major factor in many peoples choice of company when hiring, searching the internet for cheap car hire in Tenerife is a very popular solution.

The internet is a very important tool for car hire companies, most importantly because many people book their car hire before coming on holiday in Tenerife , so their advertising should be aimed where the customer is situated. Local advertising is fine for those people on a package tour wishing for rent a car for part of their holiday but the most important place to advertise for car hire in Tenerife is without doubt on the internet through which a constantly increasing number of people are booking their flights to Tenerife as well as their holidays in Tenerife.

More important than price when looking for car hire should be the quality of the insurance included, many companies offer a very minimum insurance cover in order to keep their costs down and appear to offer very cheap car hire.

Unbeknown to those who don't check the terms and conditions of their car hire contract, there are many pitfalls which make the hirer liable for damage done by other drivers.

For example, your hire car is parked properly in a car park and someone reverses into it slightly damaging the door and front wing, on returning the car to the cheap car rental company the customer is told that there is an excess liability of 100 Euros per panel to be paid, protesting this will not help as normally car hire companies "swipe" your credit card and hold this as security for any unpaid debts. So buyer beware cheap car hire in Tenerife (or anywhere else for that matter) is often not so cheap in the long run.

An alternative method of offering cheap car hire in Tenerife is operated by a few "cowboys" outside the normal professional business practice of car hire in Tenerife . There are a few rogue operators who make a point of getting to know property owners who holiday in Tenerife on a regular basis and offer the use of a reasonable second hand car at a discounted price.

These cars do not have insurance for car hire but usually ordinary insurance for personal use, the hirer is normally told, if the police stop you tell them that you've borrowed it from a friend. Imagine that you had the misfortune to be involved in a serious accident in which someone was killed or maimed for life, resulting in a potentially large payout for the insurance company, that insurance company is going to look very closely at the circumstances of the accident and this could leave YOU in a very serious situation indeed.

Taxis in Tenerife are large and roomy with plenty of luggage space. A family of five including cases should manage comfortably in just one taxi.

There are several Accessible Taxi units in the municipal boroughs of Santa Cruz de Tenerife , La Laguna and La Orotava, although they can operate throughout the island. These vehicles are MPV type cars and they are fitted with a ramp to provide access to the interior, making it possible for people to travel in their own wheelchairs, carry the push chair without having to fold it down, or carry 6 passengers.

The bus service in Tenerife is generally clean, reliable and inexpensive.

According to TITSA, the public bus company, their services encompass about 500 vehicles, 1,200 workers and result in the transport of approximately 50 million travellers in one year.

While in general, tourists should have no reservations about using buses in Tenerife , do not try to catch a bus out of Los Cristianos or Las Americas between about 4pm and 7pm. Having been there several times myself, even heavily pregnant, I can tell you that it is worth the price of a taxi to avoid the unsightly scrum to get a seat.

There is a discount card which can be purchased from all stations and terminals of TITSA and many shops around Tenerife . The Bono-Bus card costs about €12 but saves up to 30% of the cost of transport as well as discounts for entry into Tenerife 's museums.

The Bono-Bus or bus voucher is valid on all regular TITSA buses and routes, providing a 50% discount. They cost 30 or 12 Euros and can be bought in TITSA bus stations. Valid for 1 year.

Important: The Bono-Bus can be passed on from one person to another. If there is not enough left on the Bono-Bus for the last journey, you must pay the difference in cash (not with another Bono-Bus).

Other TITSA Bus Stations:

Muelle Norte (Urbano) Santa Cruz

922 282 007

Bravo Murillo(Urbano) Santa Cruz

922 243 023

La Laguna

922 259 412

Tacoronte

922 561 807

La Orotava

922 332 702

Puerto de la Cruz

922 381 807

Icod de los Vinos

922 811 304

Buenavista

922 127 436

Güimar

922 511 665

Granadilla

922 770 606

Playa de las Américas (Pueblo Canario)

922 795 427

Public transport on the island is provided by a extensive network of buses (Guaguas) and run by T.I.T.S.A. who operate a fleet of modern, air-conditioned buses which, generally, run on time. Drivers are helpful, and the mix of tourists and 'locals' (especially in the resort areas) makes for an interesting ride, not to mention it being one of the best ways to actually see the island. Plans for a Railway network linking the capital with the South have been approved by both the Tenerife Council and the Canary Islands Government, for Tenerife and Gran Canaria, thought the discussion with the central Spanish Government relies now on budget.

The metropolitan Area formed by Santa Cruz and La Laguna will be served by a tranvia (tram) working in early 2007, after 2 years of intensive works.